UPDATE: The Humboldt County Coroner’s Office has identified the victim of last Wednesday’s crash and notification has been made to next of kin. The bicyclist has been identified as 75-year-old Michael Eagan of Eureka.
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Previous Post: On 03/23/2022, at approximately 4:54 PM, Humboldt Area CHP received a report of a crash involving a bicyclist and a vehicle at the intersection of Herrick Avenue and Elk River Road. Personnel from Eureka Police Department, Humboldt Bay Fire Department, Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office, City Ambulance of Eureka and California Highway Patrol responded to the scene.
Based on the preliminary investigation, CHP has determined that a 1994 Dodge Ram was being driven westbound on Herrick Avenue, approaching Elk River Road. A bicyclist, whose name is currently being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was riding northbound on Elk River Road approaching Herrick Avenue. For reasons yet to be determined, the bicyclist entered the intersection, riding into the westbound lane of Herrick Avenue, and directly into the path of the Dodge. The bicyclist was struck by the front left of the Dodge, resulting in major injuries. The driver of the Dodge, 59 year old Tom Hull of Field’s Landing, remained on scene and cooperated with law enforcement’s investigation of the crash. Mr. Hull did not receive any injuries as a result of this crash. Unfortunately, due to the severity of the injuries, the bicyclist succumbed to their injuries on scene and was pronounced deceased by emergency medical personnel.
The California Highway Patrol extends its condolences to the family of the deceased, and thanks all responding agencies for their assistance in managing the scene. The CHP Humboldt Area office is continuing its investigation and asks anyone who witnessed the crash, or has any additional information related to the crash, to contact the California Highway Patrol at 707-822-5981.
On Tuesday, March 22, 2022 at about 1:30 p.m., officers with the Eureka Police
Department responded to the 4300 block of Hilfiker Lane for the report of a subject
down on the ground as a result of an assault. Once on scene, officers contacted a 70-
year-old male who suffered significant injuries to his face and head. Humboldt Bay Fire
and City Ambulance responded and transported the male to the hospital for treatment.
Based on the investigation it appears the 70-year male victim had been seated in his
parked vehicle when he was approached by an unknown male on foot and was
assaulted. Bystanders intervened in the assault and the suspect fled the area on foot.
Officers interviewed witnesses on scene and searched the area but were unable to
locate the suspect.
Witnesses on scene described the suspect as being a Native American male adult with
black hair, medium build, approximately 6’1”, wearing white sweat pants.
Anyone with information related to this incident that has not been contacted by law
enforcement already is asked to contact Officer Richard Bise at rbise@ci.eureka.ca.gov
or (707) 441-4060 x1314.
On March 26, 2022, at approximately 0515 hours, David Patmore of Rio Dell, CA was driving a 2022 Peterbilt tractor, hauling two 28-foot trailers, northbound on US-101, south of Bell Springs Road. Inside the two 28-foot trailers were 475 pounds of Organic Peroxide, 578 pounds of Phosphorous Acid, 1056 pounds of Sodium Hydroxide, and other miscellaneous items. For reasons still under investigation, the semi-truck crossed over the east solid white edge line and traveled off the roadway. The semi-truck collided with an ascending dirt and grass covered embankment and then a storm drain. The semi-truck entered back onto US-101 where the tractor and trailers overturned onto their right side. The semi-truck began sliding on its right side in a northwesterly direction, until the cab of the Peterbilt collided with a tree along the west shoulder of US-101. The semi-truck came to a stop, blocking both lanes of US-101, facing in a westerly direction. Mr. Patmore did not sustain any injuries.
As a result of the crash, two 55-gallon drums of Sodium Hydroxide ruptured within the rear trailer and approximately two to three gallons spilled onto the roadway. Due to the large quantity of hazardous commodities within the second trailer, the unknown extent on the spill, and the semi-truck blocking both lanes, US-101 was shut down. US-101 remained closed for approximately 14 hours between Cummings Road and Woodruff Road in order to clean up the hazardous material and recover the overturned tractor and trailers.
This crash remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
As California gas prices approach $6 per gallon, will proposals to have the state pay car owners blunt a move away from gas-powered driving? Vehicles head westbound on route 580 toward Oakland on July 22, 2019. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
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As California gas prices soar — reaching a per-gallon average of $5.90 on Friday — lawmakers are trying to rush to the rescue with pricey proposals to assist drivers. Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to give car owners $400 per car for up to two vehicles, at a cost of $9 billion.
Sending money to car owners would work at cross purposes with the state’s climate goals in response to a political moment, said Danny Cullenward, policy director for CarbonPlan, a nonprofit climate-research organization. “It is not a policy that rises to the moment in addressing income inequality or climate,” he said.
So is the state engaged in a multi-billion dollar contradiction here? Would a payout for car owners essentially undercut the state’s climate efforts?
“I actually think it doesn’t, because of the way this is structured,” said Severin Borenstein, an economist and director of the Haas Energy Institute at UC Berkeley. Californians who get a check or debit card could use it for anything, said Borenstein. So long as gas prices are high, drivers still have an incentive to try to buy less gas and spend the state payment buying other goods.
What’s important, he said, is that this proposal doesn’t try to substantially drive down the price of gasoline — as suspending the gas tax entirely, which Republicans are calling for, would. Cheaper gas would encourage people to use more gas, and “that definitely undermines our environmental goals,” he said. He would have rather seen the payment targeted at lower income people though, “instead of people who own cars, many of whom are not struggling financially.”
The advantage of doing flat checks or debit cards, rather than cutting the gas tax to reduce the price, is that the checks don’t get bigger if you drive more, or smaller if you drive less, said Jesse Rothstein, a professor of public policy and economics at UC Berkeley, and faculty director of the California Policy Lab. In other words, they don’t change the incentives around how much gas people use.
Under Newsom’s proposal, owners of electric vehicles would also receive the $400 debit cards, and the payments are part of a broader package, including:
$750 million in grants to incentivize public transit agencies to make rides free for three months
$500 million for walking and biking lanes and other infrastructure
Funds to reduce or pause certain gas and diesel taxes
Still, some environmental advocates wanted to see lawmakers do much more to speed the shift away from gas-powered cars.
RL Miller, a member of the Democratic National Committee and founder of Climate Hawks Vote, said she recognized that gas prices were hurting people and appreciated that the governor’s package included funding for transit and biking and walking projects. But she wanted a larger share of the total package spent on non-car transit.
Out of Newsom’s $11 billion proposal, about 80% would pay for sending debit cards to car owners, while about 7% would go to public transit agencies and 4.5% would go toward walking and biking infrastructure.
“We know the long-term goal is to get people off oil. But in the short term, we need to do something to bring people relief who are feeling a lot of pain at the pump. — Erin Mellon, spokesperson for Gov. Newsom
Miller would have preferred California address rising gas prices by offering a generous reward to people willing to ditch their gas-guzzlers — a ‘cash for clunkers’ program — as well as a commitment to hasten the date by which California will ban the sale of gas-powered cars.
“If you couple these long-term investments with the short-term gas card rebate silliness that they’re talking about,” Miller said, “then I would consider that acceptable.”
A spokesperson for the Newsom administration said the proposal isn’t a “this or” approach, it’s “this and.” “We know the long-term goal is to get people off oil,” said Erin Mellon, a spokesperson for the governor. “But in the short term, we need to do something to bring people relief who are feeling a lot of pain at the pump because of Putin’s war,” she said.
“Sending people $400 checks and saying ‘sorry gas prices are so high, I hope this helps,” isn’t the ideal message, said David Weiskopf, a senior policy advisor on climate and environmental issues at NextGen Policy, which advocates for progressive legislation. But he thinks relief payments, especially when the government has a large budget surplus, is appropriate.
There’s kind of a knee jerk reaction that says: ‘why are we rewarding vehicle ownership?’ he said. But he sees the policy as an attempt to reach lots of people who are in the DMV’s records, but who might not be reached by a program that distributes money based on whether they filed taxes, which is how income-based refunds often work. That includes some of the poorest Californians, who may not have to file state taxes. But, he said, he’d like to see the money also go to people with state IDs, to reach households that don’t own a car.
“It’s impressive how governments can react quickly to certain things — COVID, or high gasoline prices,” said Ellie Cohen, CEO of the Climate Center. She was complimentary of elements of Newsom’s proposal, but would have liked to see the funds targeted at lower-income people. “We’re just not going fast enough on climate change.”
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CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
Those delays — which one study found left the average tenant waiting about three months to get paid — forced legislators’ hands: Last Thursday, the state’s top legislative leaders struck another last-minute deal designed to stave off eviction for another three months for hundreds of thousands of renters who have applied for relief but are still waiting to hear back.
The first hearing on Assembly Bill 2179 is scheduled for today. The current law, set to expire Thursday, says a judge must pause an eviction proceeding if a rent relief application is pending. The new legislation, expected to go into effect by Thursday, would shield tenants through June 30 as the state continues to process their paperwork.
“It is on us to take care of the thousands of Californians — landlords and tenants alike — who reached out to COVID-19 emergency rental assistance programs for help and still have their applications pending,” said Assemblymember Tim Grayson, a Concord Democrat who is the bill’s co-author.
“It would be cruel, wasteful and unfair to subject these Californians to eviction or the loss of rental income now, when they have done everything asked of them, and distribution of their emergency rental assistance is imminent,” he said in a statement.
But renters who do not apply to the program by the Thursday deadline will not receive any protections. Landlords will still be able to take those tenants to court over missed rent starting Friday.
California has about $5.4 billion in federal funds to help qualified applicants with 100% of unpaid rent dating back to April 2020, some of which is being distributed by local rent relief programs. Lawmakers last month authorized more state spending if the federal dollars don’t cover the costs.
Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, a San Diego Democrat, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, a Lakewood Democrat, endorsed the new bill in a joint statement Thursday, promising it would move quickly through both houses.
Gov. Gavin Newsom appears likely to sign the bill. A spokesperson told CalMatters in an email: “The governor strongly supports an extension that continues to protect tenants well into the summer and ensures that every eligible applicant is protected under this nation-leading rent relief program as it winds down.”
Local protections at risk
On Friday, the California Rental Housing Association, which says it represents more than 20,000 landlords with 575,000 units across the state, issued a statement opposing the bill. The group said that statewide eviction protections are no longer necessary, and it urged the timely payment of rent relief. (Some major provisions of the statewide moratorium expired Sept. 30.)
“Enough is enough,” said Christine Kevane La Marca, CalRHA president. “By halting applications for those in need, and extending the eviction moratorium, rental housing providers are being forced to carry the financial weight of the pandemic and some of them will lose their properties as a result.”
Legislative leaders drove negotiations for the last-minute deal, according to Debra Carlton, executive vice president of the California Apartment Association, which also represents landlords at the state Capitol. As in the most recent extension negotiations last fall, Carlton said neither her group nor tenant advocates were at the table, but their recommendations were taken into account.
The association’s main request was granted: Local jurisdictions won’t be allowed to enact new tenant protections until July 1, and any protections put in place by local governments after Aug. 19, 2020, will also be delayed.
That’s exactly what worries tenant advocates. The bill would postpone hard-fought protections that were set to go into effect on April 1, notably in Los Angeles County, San Francisco and Fresno. A few protections put in place before the cutoff — including in the city of Los Angeles and Alameda County — will remain in place.
“I see it as honestly cruel,” said Alexander Harnden, a staff attorney at Inner City Law Center, which serves tenants across L.A. County. “Repealing protections the day before they’re set to kick in means a lot of people are not going to get that information. It’s really setting people up to get evicted.”
Informing renters of the patchwork of protections in L.A. County has been no easy feat, Harnden said, as some tenants continue to have the false belief there’s an outright eviction ban statewide. In fact, sheriff’s departments across California have carried out at least 10,000 lockouts — the last step in an eviction process — since the start of the pandemic, according to a CalMatters investigation last summer.
Using data obtained through a Public Records Act request, Kyle Nelson, a Ph.D. candidate in sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, found the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department performed lockouts at more than 8,600 households between April 2020 and September 2021.
“I see it as honestly cruel…. It’s really setting people up to get evicted.” — Alexander Harnden, a staff attorney at Inner City Law Center in Los Angeles, on local protections being postponed
Tenant advocates worry that after the application deadline for rent relief passes on Thursday, thousands of renters will still need help. In the most recent survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 977,000 California households at all income levels reported no confidence in their ability to pay April’s rent.
According to another poll released last week, 34% of renters said they are “very concerned” about not having enough money to pay their housing costs.
“It feels like a mixed bag,” said Tina Rosales, legislative advocate at the Western Center on Law and Poverty. “With our budget surplus, we thought that there would be an extension of the deadline to apply for (rent relief), and there wasn’t.”
According to another recent survey of 58 tenant organizations across the state by Tenants Together, an advocacy group, 90% of organizations helping renters apply for aid said their tenants reported difficulties applying. Half of survey respondents complained of inadequate language access and lack of community outreach.
“They’re basically saying, ‘Tough luck,’” said Shanti Singh, legislative and communications director for the group. “If we didn’t do our job telling you this program exists, that’s your problem now.”
Last June, a coalition of tenant advocacy groups filed a discrimination complaint against the state over language barriers for non-English speakers. The case is now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to Tiffany Hickey, a staff attorney at the Asian Law Caucus.
“Throughout this complaint process we’ve really been pushing to have this investigated and addressed as quickly as possible because people are being left out of relief because they can’t access the program,” Hickey said.
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CALmatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.
Cass Bell (left) and Tyson Miller (right). | Photos provided by Bell
Cass Bell fans will have to wait a while longer for the green-haired fighter’s return to the ring.
Arcata’s MMA pro planned to enter the ring next month for the first time since his loss to Jornel Lugo at Bellator 256 a year ago. Bell and his Institute of Combat teammate Tyson Siphavong-Miller were initially both signed to fight in separate preliminary bouts at Bellator 277 on April 15. But on Friday, Bell announced that he officially dropped out of the upcoming contest.
“Bad news, guys,” Bell shared on social media. “Due to injuries and family issues, I was forced to pull out of my next fight. I’m super disappointed. I’ve never pulled out of a fight in my career — professional or amateur.”
While Bell won’t be fighting at Bellator 277, he said he’ll sill be in attendance to support Miller ringside.
“Thank you all for the support, there’s nothing I hate more than letting you all down,” Bell said. “That being said, I will be at the fight, and my awesome teammate will still be fighting.
The 2-0 fighter from Eureka is scheduled to face Shane Keefe (2-0) from San Jose.
“I’m looking forward to showing some Humboldt love to another bad-ass, locally raised and trained fighter,” Bell said.
